Biggest POS You've Ever Flown
- Thread starter SeanD
- Start date
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
While I would never ever condone using automotive parts on an aircraft, it is a fact that if you order an alternator belt from Piper, they send you a Gates Green Stripe belt with a Piper sticker slapped on the cardboard sleeve and a Piper part number hand-written on the belt in paint marker. It is also a fact that these belts work much better and last much longer than the custom-made ones you can buy from Lycoming.
Although the one that far and away takes the cake is the manifold pressure gauge line filters in the Piper Chieftain...they are tampons. I kid you not.
msmspilot
Well-Known Member
New or used? LOL!
Bandit_Driver
Gold Member
The biggest POS I ever flew was a C-172m out of a part 61 flight school. The door hinge broke on preflight, and nav light socket blew out on power up. Mx fixed it then I departed for a 2 hour x/c and then landed. Blew a break caliper out and lost the brakes. Got stuck at the x/c destination for 4 days. 1 day for repairs then fogged in for the other three.
EIR
It's 5 o'clock somewhere
This is a tough one. I have two aircraft that come to mind, the first one being a 70's vintage C150 (180hp) tow plane and the second a 182 DZ plane. The C150 had numerous engine failures, the doors did absolutely nothing, the instruments were worthless, and on occasion the front nose wheel would nearly shimmy off. The C182 would leak fuel in the cabin when the tanks were topped, the instruments were worthless and a partial CO2 leak.
So, pick your poison.
So, pick your poison.
Chief Captain
Well-Known Member
+1 on this. The 152 plugs are always fouling up. I'd even lean the mixture below 3000ft. Spend an hour at 1000ft with the mixture rich, and you'll need to clean them again.
Not sure why so many people here don't like the Duchess either. It beats the Seminole and the Seneca in just about every category for me. The only thing the Seneca has over a Duchess is that on longer flights, it has way more room.
Roger Roger
Bottom of the list
The Seneca is basically a twin Cherokee 6 (well, Lance) and is therefore awesome.
Well, it's probably not near as good of a hauler as the Big 6 due to dragging around the extra engine and stuff, but they seem to be fairly popular down south for 135 stuff.
I don't think the Duchess is inherently a bad airplane (far from it, I think it's a great twin trainer) but like any other trainer there are a lot of really ragged out ones out there.
rvg203
Well-Known Member
The only Schweizer 1-26 I ever flew. The canopy was full of repaired cracks, patched fabric, the radio didn't work, the altimeter required constant tapping to read right, and one of the varios was suspect. However, it was probably one of the most enjoyable glider flights I ever had. Sometimes the old ones are the most fun.
beasly
Well-Known Member
I worked for LAI. I remember seeing AA on the road a few times, and I would have gladly traded for a crappy looking airplane. My airplane had pretty fresh paint on it, so it looked nice. Too bad it spent many hours showing off that paint job while sitting in various MX shops around the country. Had they invested in a better engine/avionics instead of paint my season would have been MUCH better. After the 2nd engine issue they finally replaced the whole engine, and in the closing weeks of the season they put a new radio in.
I honestly thought it was going to be simply time building for 7 months. It was so much more than that. There were 3 honest to god moments during that season that for the first time in my flying career, I thought I was going to be landing off airport. And the engine eating valves weren't those times.
Here's my experience with the Duchess
Amazing that I still didn't pick that for biggest POS flown lol
Well, it is a nice paint job..
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
I have to trot out this old Chestnut for this thread:
However, be aprised that Patches was light years LESS of a POS than ANY Be99 I've ever even seen, let alone flown. She was just a little aesthetically challenged.
However, be aprised that Patches was light years LESS of a POS than ANY Be99 I've ever even seen, let alone flown. She was just a little aesthetically challenged.
SteveCostello
My member is well-known.
Good grief. How many different airplanes is that made out of? Any matching serial numbers on that?I have to trot out this old Chestnut for this thread:
However, be aprised that Patches was light years LESS of a POS than ANY Be99 I've ever even seen, let alone flown. She was just a little aesthetically challenged.
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
Serial Numbers? What is this "Serial Numbers" of which you speak?
IMS, there was a Cessna 210 back at FLX which, if you looked carefully, had an "M" wing and an "N" wing (think they had slightly different access hatches...something like that). Damn thing never did fly straight!
IMS, there was a Cessna 210 back at FLX which, if you looked carefully, had an "M" wing and an "N" wing (think they had slightly different access hatches...something like that). Damn thing never did fly straight!
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
I'll take the blame for 8888. That was the first one I flew at 9E, and it had just been delivered. I remember it had a couple electrical bugs on it then... I guess they never worked themselves out, but that plane definitely has a special place in my heart being the first jet I ever landed.
Joy. I'm taking that plane to CLE tonight...well, maybe apparently.
KLB
Well-Known Member
I have to trot out this old Chestnut for this thread:
However, be aprised that Patches was light years LESS of a POS than ANY Be99 I've ever even seen, let alone flown. She was just a little aesthetically challenged.
Looks like the tail number is duct taped on.
smack300
Well-Known Member
Does the Premier fly as bad as it looks? Looks like a pregnant duck.
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
I was waiting for "patches" to make an appearance. That's not the first time Boris has dropped that pic on this forum. The Pilatus must be pretty boring compared to that thing.
I'm pretty much a one-trick pony when it comes to "interesting" airplanes, so I have to make maximum use! And Patches really wasn't that bad to fly...gutess compared to a Marquise, but not really noticeaby worse than any other J-model*. In any case, ANY MU-2 is better to fly than ANY Pilatus, IMHO.
* Except the ashtrays. IMS, the guy who usually flew it was another Oklahoma Poopkicker Cowboy and the ashtrays were generally, well, let's just draw the curtain of charity and say "not empty". I saw the outflow valves out of one of those things in MX once...positively ORANGE with nictoine. Naturally, I thought that was awesome, too.